The subject invention generally relates to a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) assembly for a motor vehicle. More specifically, the subject invention relates to a HVAC assembly that includes an anti-rattle valve feature to reduce the rattle noise generated by air valve shafts in the assembly.
HVAC assemblies are well known in the art and find common utilization in motor vehicles. Typically an HVAC assembly is used to distribute the output from the heater, air conditioning unit, and ventilation throughout the interior of, for example, a vehicle. The HVAC assembly is manipulated by an operator to direct the output in a plurality of manners. For example, it is common to be able to select between defrost, defrost and floor, dash, dash and floor, and floor outputs from the HVAC assembly in a vehicle. Within the HVAC assembly air is directed to an appropriate outlet via movement of an air valve, typically mounted on an air valve shaft. Rotation of the shaft, either manually or mechanically, rotates the valve relative to its respective outlet to control the amount of air exiting through the outlet associated with the valve. Typically, the ends of the air valve shaft are mounted into pivot holes in a housing of the HVAC assembly to allow for positioning and rotation of the air valve shaft.
To provide for proper operation of the HVAC assembly it is important that the air valve shafts and thereby the air valves rotate with only slight resistance within the HVAC assembly. This is particularly true when mechanical means are utilized to alter the position of the air valves. To permit mounting of the air valve shafts within the housing of the HVAC assembly it is generally required that the pivot holes in the housing be larger in diameter than the pivot points at the ends of the shaft. Because of this manufacturing requirement it is possible for the air valve shafts to rattle in the pivot holes thus creating undesirable noise from the HVAC assembly. In the past others have used either greased foam pads or felt washers near the pivot points and within the pivot holes to reduce noise transmitted by rattling of the air valve shaft within the pivot hole. This solution, however, is unsatisfactory because it increases the cost and difficulty of manufacture of HVAC assemblies.
Thus, it would be beneficial to design an HVAC assembly with an anti-rattle valve feature that would allow for a low cost solution to the problem of air shaft rattle within HVAC assemblies. Any solution must maintain the rotational freedom of the air valve shaft within the pivot hole.
In a first embodiment, the present invention is a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning assembly comprising: a housing having a first pivot bole with an inside; an air valve shaft having a first pivot point, the first pivot point received in the first pivot hole and rotatable therein; and a finger, the finger contacting the shaft and biasing the first pivot point against the inside of the first pivot hole thereby reducing a rattle of the air valve shaft.
In a second embodiment, the present invention is a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning assembly comprising: a housing having a first pivot hold with an inside and a second pivot hole with an inside; an air valve shaft having a first pivot point opposite a second pivot point, the first and second pivot points received in the first and second pivot holes, respectively, and rotatable therein; a first finger, the first finger contacting the shaft and biasing the first pivot point against the side of the first pivot hole; and a second finger, the second finger contacting the shaft and biasing the second pivot point against the inside of the second pivot hole, the first and second fingers reducing a rattle of the air valve shaft.